Former Google DeepMind researchers Federico Felici and Jonas Buchli have founded Fusionality, a startup developing control hardware and software for the fusion power industry.
Key facts
- •Fusionality raised $3.7 million (CHF 3 million) in pre-seed funding from investors Founderful and Playfair.
- •The company is based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and currently employs seven people.
- •Federico Felici serves as CEO, while Jonas Buchli serves as CTO.
- •The startup is initially targeting the magnetic confinement branch of fusion power.
- •Felici estimates that 80% of the control systems currently built by individual fusion companies are identical.
Federico Felici and Jonas Buchli have launched Fusionality, a Lausanne-based startup focused on creating standardized control systems for fusion power reactors. The founders, who previously worked on AI and control systems for experimental fusion devices, raised $3.7 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Founderful and Playfair. The company aims to address a gap in the fusion supply chain by providing specialized hardware and software components that fusion startups currently build from scratch.
By the numbers
Standardizing Fusion Control Systems
Fusion power plants require precise, split-second decision-making to maintain the temperature, shape, and fuel levels of superheated plasma. While many fusion companies currently develop their own proprietary control systems, Felici noted that approximately 80% of these systems share identical fundamental requirements. Fusionality plans to leverage this commonality by providing a suite of control systems and simulation environments that can be customized for specific reactor designs.
Founding and Future Strategy
The founders met while working on AI control for tokamaks, with Felici at EPFL and Buchli at Google DeepMind. Felici later joined Google DeepMind, where he worked on machine learning interfaces for fusion. Fusionality is currently focusing on magnetic confinement fusion, a method used by companies such as Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Realta Fusion, Proxima Fusion, and Type One Energy. The startup, which currently has seven employees, intends to expand its technology offerings over time, describing its development approach as building with modular 'Lego blocks' to eventually support a wide range of reactor technologies.
The Role of AI in Fusion
While Fusionality incorporates AI into its work, Felici expressed a cautious outlook regarding its current capabilities. He stated that while AI will play an important role in future control systems, it is not yet ready to manage an entire fusion reactor. Instead, he envisions AI being used to complement, enhance, or optimize specific parts of the control system.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by TechCrunch.
